When You're Tired of Hiding
Most of us have a version of ourselves we hope nobody ever meets. The bit of the story we edit out when people ask how we are. The browser tab we close when someone walks past. The thing we keep meaning to sort out before we let anyone get too close. You see, a lot of us are not hiding because we want to, but because we are tired of being seen getting it wrong.
This is the second talk in our Jesus the Revolutionary series, and Dave takes us into one of the most famous conversations Jesus ever had — a meeting at a well, in the hottest part of the day, with a woman who had built her whole routine around not being noticed. What comes out of that conversation is less a lecture and more an invitation. Not "clean yourself up first." Just "come as you are."
The well at noon was never about the water
Dave points out that in the story, the woman comes to draw water at the hottest time of the day. In that village, everyone else came in the cool of the morning — together, chatting, catching up on the news. She came at noon on her own.
Why? Because the morning crowd was the community she was hiding from.
"She's not there because it's convenient or because it's safer," Dave says. "She's there because of her shame."
Then Dave lands it in a way that makes the story feel contemporary. Very few of us are walking to a literal well. But plenty of us have built a whole life around the same instinct — we structure the day to avoid certain people, certain conversations, certain places. We go to the shop at a time no one we know will be there. We stay late at the office. We say we are fine. We keep the hard bits of our story locked in a drawer we promise ourselves we will deal with later.
Shame is quietly one of the most exhausting things a person can carry. And the trick of it is that the very thing we do to protect ourselves — the hiding — is also the thing that isolates us from the people and the love that could actually help.
Jesus goes out of his way
Here is the bit that reframes the whole story.
The text says Jesus "had to" go through Samaria. Dave flags that the better translation is compelled. Jews in that period did not travel through Samaria — they went the long way around. The hostility between the two groups was generations deep. So Jesus cutting through Samaria is not a shortcut. It is a deliberate detour into territory his own people would not enter, to meet one woman his own community had written off.
He sits down at the well. He waits. He is not there for the crowds. He is not there for the religious leaders. He is there for her.
And when she arrives, he does something that sounds small but is actually seismic — he asks her for a drink. In that culture, that single sentence breaks roughly four social rules at once. Gender. Ethnicity. Religion. Reputation. Jesus does not seem especially bothered about any of them.
The one she is trying to avoid being seen by sees her first, and decides she is worth the journey.
What happens next is a conversation, not a sermon. Jesus asks her questions. He listens. He responds to what she actually says. When the subject of her five husbands comes up — a line that could have ended the whole interaction — he names the truth without weaponising it. He is not trying to expose her. He is showing her that he already knows.
Dave notes that five plus the man she is currently with makes six, and in the Bible six often carries the sense of incompletion. She is talking to the one who is called the bridegroom. The searching is real. The completing is on offer.
No exposure, just an offer
In the Conversation Street segment after the talk, Will captured what Jesus is doing in one phrase — "no exposure, just an offer."
That is what makes this story so different from what a lot of us expect from religion. We are braced for a telling-off. We are ready for someone to point out what we already know is broken. What Jesus does is the opposite. He names her story without shaming her with it. He does not ignore the past. He just does not use it as a weapon.
Mike added that "he who knows you best loves you most." That is not how human relationships usually work. We tend to hide the worst bits precisely because we are afraid that if people really knew, they would not stick around. The invitation of this story is that there is someone who already knows all of it, and the knowing has not changed the loving.
Alicia, writing in the chat, pointed out that what Jesus does in this conversation moves the woman from shame that is centred on herself to a much larger view that is centred on him. Her identity stops being defined by what she has done, and starts being defined by who she has met.
She leaves the water jar
There is a tiny detail in verse 28 that is easy to skim past. When she goes back to the village, she leaves her water jar behind.
She came for water. She forgets the water.
Dave unpacks this. For a lot of us, the "water jar" is the thing we thought would fill us up — a relationship, a promotion, a level of success, a sense of approval, a way of numbing the ache. Those things are not necessarily bad in themselves, but they cannot do the job of the thing we actually need. They run dry. Something sparkly becomes ordinary. We go looking for the next jar.
When the woman meets Jesus, the jar becomes irrelevant. Not because it was evil, but because she has finally found something that actually satisfies the thing she was always really thirsty for.
Then she does the last thing you would expect from someone who had spent her life hiding. She goes straight back to the village — the same village she was avoiding at noon — and she says, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did."
The woman who built her whole routine around not being seen becomes the one telling everyone else where to look.
Monday morning — what this actually means
This is not a story about people who had their lives together. It is a story about someone who had been hurt, had hurt others, was exhausted, and was hiding. If that lands anywhere near home, here is what Dave draws out of the text.
If you have been in church a long time. It is possible to follow Jesus and still be hiding. You can sing the songs, serve on a rota, know all the right language, and still have areas of your life you are keeping untouched because they feel too painful or too shameful to open up. Dave puts it gently — the bits we leave unsurrendered are the bits that cannot be redeemed, not because God refuses, but because we are still holding them shut. The invitation is not to fix them first. It is to let him in to them.
If you are exploring faith and not sure this is for you. Dave has a thought for you specifically. "Don't try and polish yourself up." A lot of people hold back from Jesus because they think they have to become a certain kind of person first — more moral, more sorted, less broken. The woman at the well did none of that. She just came as she was, and she was welcomed. The gospel is not "get yourself presentable and then come." It is "come, and let me meet you."
If you are tired of pretending. Mike talked about how honest he finds it hard to be, even with God who already knows everything. There is something in us that thinks if we do not say the thing out loud, it stays hidden. Saying it is an act of faith — it is us trusting that the love does not run away when the truth gets aired.
If isolation is your default. Will shared that when he is having a dark day with depression, every instinct says shut down, do not talk to anyone, ride it out alone. So years ago he set up a WhatsApp group of five guys. On a bad day he does not have to explain anything — he just types the word "struggling." It is a discipline, not a feeling. The point is not that the group fixes it. The point is that it stops him hiding.
A few practical things to try this week
Pick one area of your life you have been quietly keeping to yourself — the one you have been meaning to sort out "before" anything else. Tell God about it honestly, as if he did not already know. He already does; the telling is for you.
If you do not have one, think about whether there is a small circle of people you could be honest with. Two or three trusted mates. Not a public post. Just people who know you and are for you.
When the instinct to hide kicks in this week, notice it. You do not have to do anything big with it — just notice the pattern. Recognising it is where it starts losing its grip.
Read John chapter 4 for yourself, start to finish. It is a long chapter, but it reads like a story. Watch how Jesus treats her. That is how he treats you.
If any of this has stirred something and you want to talk it through, come and join one of the live Sunday streams and stick around for the live lounge after, or drop into the next alpha course. There is nothing you have to know or believe first — the conversation is the point.
The arms are still outstretched
Dave closed the talk with an image worth sitting with. Jesus died with his arms outstretched. Those same arms, Dave said, are still outstretched towards us.
Wherever you are tonight — whether you would call yourself a Christian, or you are still working out what you believe, or you are so tired of hiding that you have almost forgotten what you were hiding from — the invitation has not been withdrawn. You are not disqualified. You are not too far gone. You are not unseen.
The woman at the well came looking for water at noon because she was hoping to avoid everyone. She went home in the afternoon telling everyone about the man who knew everything she had ever done and welcomed her anyway.
That is the story on offer.
Come as you are.
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# Transcript — Dave (JTR2) — Crowd Church 2026-04-19
Will: Good evening and welcome to Crowd Church, to our Sunday live stream. You are most welcome. My name is Will and it's lovely to see you this evening. I'm joined today by Mike Harris. Mike, say hello.
Mike: Hello, it is great to see you all. I am really looking forward to this, feeling incredibly cool in this very posh studio. And yeah, really looking forward to it.
Will: Mike is wowed by the tech this evening. Wow. it is pretty impressive. And you'll notice we are almost colour coordinated wearing red today, but we're not really talking about that Merseyside event today. But anyway, here we are in red. Very nice to see you, Mike. And yeah, good to have you in this very cool studio. Yeah. So yeah, what's been going on this week?
Dave: Any—
Mike: Well, I—
Will: How's the gardening?
Mike: The gardening is going well. It's a good season. Yeah, everything is growing. All the weeds are keeping me in business, which is great. And yeah, got the mower out and all is good.
Will: It's a good strapline, that weeds keeping me in business.
Mike: That's right. Yeah, I just go around sowing seeds of weeds in all these customers' gardens.
Will: You are live online. Oh yeah. This is not good for your client base. Sorry, Chris. Great. Yeah, I love this. We have some blossom in our— we have a cherry and we have an apple and they just like they just come alive. It's beautiful, beautiful sunshine in Liverpool. I don't know where you're listening from around the world, but we're celebrating spring at the moment in Liverpool. It's very fine. So if you're new to Crowd Church, stick around and enjoy. What we're going to do is we're going to have a talk in a minute. We've started a new series kicked off last week by Matt called Jesus the Revolutionary— what you think about Jesus and what the reality is. And tonight we've got the next talk on that, which I'll introduce in a minute. And then after that, we'll come back and Mike and I will chat about it with our speaker in Conversation Street. Please do make a note of any questions or comments that you've got in the chat as we go along, and we'll try and pick up as many of those as we can in Conversation Street afterwards. And after Conversation Street, there is then a live lounge. So please do stick around and come, and just chat further informally with some others, after the live stream. And if you're watching this on recording, you obviously can't join the live lounge, but, please do check out everything else on the Crowd site. There's lots and lots of resources. the only other thing to mention is that, we are starting a new alpha course on the 5th of May. We're currently running an alpha, have lots of people from around the country and the world actually joining in. So if you're interested in doing an alpha but you can't make it to a physical one and you've maybe been part of Crowd or come across Crowd, please do join us on the 5th of May. If you could send an email, Matt, is that the best way? Go to the website. Go to the website and make yourself known and there's a form there. If you want to join an alpha. And yeah, that would be great. We're having a lot of fun on the current alpha. And yeah, it's a great community, even though we're scattered around the place and haven't yet met face to face. It's been really cool. Oh, and the only other thing to mention is Aidan and Sonia. I don't know whether you're online because I can't see the comments, but happy anniversary. We don't know how long you've been married, but 18 years. 18 years. Congratulations and lovely to have you this evening. So, Mike, how long have you been married?
Mike: 20+ years.
Will: 20+? Mike, I have to say, you are covering yourself in glory being live on the internet this evening.
Mike: It's somewhere around the mid-20s.
Will: Now, are you just being coy because you don't want people to know how old you are?
Mike: Really?
Will: Have you forgotten how long you've been married?
Mike: I, I, I know when my anniversary is, but I'm just not sure how many of them we've had.
Will: Yeah.
Mike: But it's definitely more than 20 and less than 30.
Will: Okay, good. Well, yeah, that narrows it down. A decade isn't bad. It's not bad at all.
Mike: It's not bad.
Will: Debbie, I don't know whether you're watching this. Probably best not. Right, well, with no further ado, I'd love, it's my delight to introduce David Connolly this evening, who's going to speak on Jesus the Revolutionary. And Dave is well known to many of you who've been tracking with Crowd Church, and it's fantastic to have you, Dave.
Dave: It's great to be with you guys. Over to me.
Will: Over to you.
Dave: Over to me. Hi guys, it's great to be with you again, and I want to pick up the second part in this series about Jesus and there are certain words I really struggle with, and one of those words— thanks, Matt— is revolutionary. And so I won't say it more than that once, but just what does that look like for us? And, these talks will unwrap that. And this evening we're going to look at, the title would be Seen and Known. And if you've got a Bible, you may want to just, open it up in John's Gospel, chapter 4, I'm just going to reference some verses between, verses 1 to 42. It's the whole story of the woman at the well. And, there's something really, really powerful about the moment when Jesus meets someone who's trying to stay unseen. And, you might be able to, recall maybe times in your own life where you're just, if you have to be there, you're there, but you don't want people to see you. You just want to ending. And you will see this throughout the story. And we find Jesus, sitting at a well waiting. He's not waiting for a crowd. He's not waiting for some religious leaders. He's not waiting for anybody besides one woman. And this is what we often call a divine appointment. A woman who is hiding, she's come at noon. Everybody else, all the other ladies, would have been there in the morning getting and the water, socializing, being community. But this lady, she comes at noon, the hottest part of the day. No one else would be there. Why is she there? Because simply she's wanting to hide. She's not there because it's convenient or because it's safer. She's there because of her shame. And, it's very clear throughout this story there's lots of things that we can learn and appreciate as we read our way through this. it would be true to say so many people spend their life avoiding people, avoiding situations. They live a life around avoidance. Maybe if we're honest, we would say that that's where we are in this season of life. Obviously, very few of us will be going off to the well, a literal well, but it would be true of many of us that we develop a way of living that structures our lives around being isolated and away from others. So we become isolated, untouchable, nobody can get too close. And quite often our shame keeps us away from people and will keep people away from us. There's some amazing truths in this passage as we read through it. It just emphasizes the love and the humanity of Jesus. I love Jesus that he does lots of things, society says he shouldn't do. as you start reading this story, it says he had to go through Samaria. We read in verse 4, and, at that time Jews would not travel through that nation. They would travel all the way around. They'd go way, way out of the way because they did not want to come in contact with, Samaritans. They would, they would totally want to avoid them. And, they actually thought— Jews actually thought of Samaritans as heretics and half-breeds. A bit harsh, isn't it? But this is historical, and this is how they relate. But that obviously wouldn't be the motivation for Jesus going against the cultural norms. So, it's, it's not a geographical or cultural thing Jesus is trying to blend into. Not at all. He knew that there was an appointment for him. And if you, if you read through the gospels, you'll see this is such a significant conversation that Jesus has with this woman, . And when you look about it, in, in all the conversations Jesus has, this is one of the most key in his ministry. Right, so let's just list some of those things. What are some of those hindrances? What are some of those things that could have, put Jesus off from talking to this woman? So we know there's lots of aggravation between Jews and Samaritans, historically built within them, prejudices. So it wasn't about ethnic division, religious hostility, gender barriers, social rejection. No, not at all. In verse 7, Jesus says, "Will you give me a drink?" Just think, he sat at the well waiting for her. She comes and he speaks to her. Now, unfortunately, the disciples aren't with him because he would have been— they would have had a completely different outlook. And he speaks with this lady, and he engages with this lady, and he treats her with respect. And I think they are three things that we all need. But this lady who's living a life of shame and isolation, Jesus's words speak deep and meaningfully to her. Jesus isn't intimidated by her story. are there some people that, we don't talk to them because they've got a bit of a reputation? And she would have had a 5-star reputation if you read the story. There would have been lots of reasons why you shouldn't. I wonder if there's any people in our lives that we don't talk to because they come with a past, a present, what the wonderful thing is? God wants us to fully know him, and he wants to fully know us. That lady could keep nothing hidden from Jesus, and yet, knowing her, he still received her. He still spoke to her lovingly, kindly. The conversation unfolds, and Jesus just, just asks her questions. He engages with her. How busy are we? How many times do we not engage with people because of what we know about them, or maybe what they look like, and we miss a wonderful opportunity? Jesus talks to her and he asks some amazing questions. And you may not have listed these questions maybe in this order, but one of the questions he says And when he's talking to her, he's basically said, are you married? And he says this in verse 18: You have had 5 husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. Well, that could have been a real conversation stopper, eh? And, but I was saying to Mike before, some people love numerology, in the Bible. And so I count 5 plus 1 is 6, and to my knowledge, 6 is the number of incompletion. But who she's talking to? She's talking to Jesus, and Jesus is called the bridegroom, and he's the perfect one. And, it's only in, in Jesus that we can find real fulfilment. Real fulfilment is only found in Christ Jesus. This lady is, is searching for a relationship that will meet her needs, that will fill that void inside of her. And whoever we are, I want to say both in the spiritual and in the natural, that Jesus is the only one who brings us full and complete fulfilment. I mean, that was a moment when everything could have just fallen apart. I think if we were critiquing this, I think people would just say, oh, that's a conversation killer. But it was a word of revelation And in how he said it just touched their heart. See, because Jesus's words did not speak— it, Jesus didn't speak shame over her. He didn't lecture her. He didn't reject her. He didn't judge her. Instead, he reveals himself. See, because what was really obvious, as Jesus is sat there, he is valuing her. He is listening to her and he is valuing her. He says in verse 26, I who speak to you am he. And if you read through this conversation, I'll just pull now some headlines here. He is proclaiming that he is the Messiah, the one they have been waiting for and longing for, the one who is going to bring a new way of life, a new way of living, a way of freedom fulfilment, and deliverance. But Jesus, the Messiah, he's talking to the woman at the well, and he reveals himself not to the elite, but to the overlooked, to the isolated, to the broken and the downcast. This changes everything. Being known by Jesus is not the end of this lady's story. It's the beginning of her freedom. Verse 14 says this— excuse me— whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. See, when we receive Jesus, it doesn't remove, all life's obstacles, trials, and tribulations from us, but neither does it remove the completeness that we have in Christ. Those trials and difficulties can never remove that from us, the knowledge that Jesus says, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Now, if you've heard me speak, you probably said, he's saying his favorite verse again. Absolutely no apology, because it's true. I can guarantee us in this life that we will face storms and trials, and that's not unbelief. But what? That's when the church does best. If you read in the book of Acts, church does best when it's doing what it should be doing. Persecution comes, trials come, and the church is scattered, and the good news of Jesus goes out across this world as we know it. And that is still the same today. This living water is living. It's life. It brings life. It nourishes. I'm sure, Mikey, you would have lots of, plantsy things that you can tell me about, because I know nothing. I know nothing about nothing. but but it's living water. Living things bring life. And, and that's what we need to know, that Jesus, as he's speaking to her, he's reaching out to her in love, and it is touching her heart, and it is rekindling— it was, igniting life in her very being. I don't know, I don't know if many of us have ever really gone thirsty. I mean, I think the closest I've been was traveling across a desert into Libya, from Egypt. but we had tanks and tanks of water, so even though I was thirsty and I was in a desert, I knew I wasn't gonna most likely not die of thirst. so when we talk about this, we just think We could just do with a drink and we can easily access it. But I'm talking about, some people, they are so thirsty, they are so dry that, it's something that I struggle to be able to get my head around because I've never been in that place. But I'm talking about Jesus saying, I will quench your thirst. He will just come into those dry places, those barren places. Those places that are all dried up, no more life. And he will bring his living water into our lives, and they will start to flourish as his living water comes into there. this lady, she is, she's at a well, . And, this water that she receives from Christ, these words, they go deep and they not only go deep, they— they're sustaining here, and they are eternal. These words, she goes to the well and she takes— what she takes— a pitcher, a large jar to draw water. And we know that she leaves it there. But, for many of us, we are looking for things like approval, we're looking for relationships, we're looking for success. I mean, even sex, or whatever it is, we're looking for all these different things that we put our hopes and our trust in, thinking that they will bring full fulfilment to us. And it's not that these things are wrong, it's just that they don't bring lasting fulfilment. And, it's so easy to run dry. We find something and it's wonderful and sparkly and great for a while, but it soon runs dry. Jesus didn't expose this woman's emptiness. He reached out to her and he told her what he brings, and he told her why he was there. And it says in verse 28, so the woman left her water jar And verse 28, she leaves it behind. Why? Because when we encounter Jesus, our old identity and the things that we sought for fulfilment, we don't need to take them with us because we will find exclusively fulfilment in Jesus. I would say that is my testimony. He knows what is good for us and he longs to bless us. Something remarkable happens in this. She goes back to the people. Listen to this. She goes back to the people, people she's been hiding from, the people who knew her, who knew her story, the very same people she'd been avoiding. And in verse 29, she says this: 'Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Isn't that amazing? No judgment. Jesus knew her and received her. And that is true for you and me. Jesus knows us and he receives us. Jesus— it didn't— it wasn't ignoring her past. It wasn't— Jesus wasn't saying it doesn't matter, because our lives do matter. Our brokenness does matter. But it's in spite of that, Jesus knew everything and he's still engaged with her. He still reached out to her. He still spoke to her and welcomed her. And her testimony, we read in verse 39, many— she goes back to these people who knew her, says, come and see a man, he's told me everything I've ever done. And Biblical historians will say a small revival takes place, it does wane, and then Philip goes back a little while later and a larger and long— longer-lasting move of God takes place. And I think there's about 149 villages and this mass revival is taking place. But isn't it amazing how God would want to start a work in a woman with reputation not necessarily in the criteria that we probably would pick. The woman who hid becomes the one who leads others to Jesus. Come with me back to that well and meet this man. There's a challenge. Let me land this today by saying there's a challenge for each of us today as Christians. it's possible to follow God. It's possible to walk with Jesus. And still be hiding. It's possible to say, yes, I'm a Christian, and not feel, not really believe that you are welcomed by him. And when we feel like that, we live in isolation, we hide, we, we don't believe that his love is so powerful to love us beyond our brokenness. You might serve around church, you might do X, Y, and Z, you might be at the forefront of the worship, you may sing, you may sway, cumbion, whatever, you may know all the songs, but personally you struggle getting close to Jesus because you're not confident that he receives you. He knows you, you can't hide, and he still says, come, I love you. In our thinking, sometimes we keep areas— I'm sure it's no, none of you guys, probably just me, — we keep certain areas of our lives almost untouched. Too painful, we're too ashamed, maybe. Leave them untouched and unopened. And that means that they're unsurrendered. And if they're unsurrendered, the life of God can't really come in and redeem them. And Jesus is our Redeemer. Jesus is not interested in having superficial relationships with us. Just like with that lady, he sat there waiting for her. and I'm sure she was really surprised to see this man who starts a life-changing conversation with her. 1 Samuel 16 says the Lord looks on the heart, and we need to know that. Doesn't matter what comes out of our mouth, he knows our heart first of all. I wonder where we're still hiding areas of our lives from him. Let me encourage you just to surrender them, even this evening. My friends, if you're exploring the faith, let me encourage you. If you're feeling, well, David, it sounds really good, and I can see, Will and Mike, they look really great guys, and X, Y, and Z, and— but you may be feeling that you're too far gone, you're too broken, you've done X, Y, and Z, and you might think, maybe I can just sort myself out a bit and I can come. That's not how Jesus wants you. He wants you to come as you are, broken and rough. And he wants you to come now, because today scripture says is the day of salvation. Don't try and polish yourself up to come before Jesus, because he knows you. Just come as you are and he will receive you. Come and surrender your life to him. He knew everything about that lady at the well and he welcomed her. I love Romans 5:8. It says this: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for me. I'm going to say it again, my friends. This applies to you wherever you find yourself this evening. God showed his love for you, for me, for Will, for Mike, in that whilst we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's how much God loves you and I. What if being fully known is not something to fear, but something that leads us into true freedom. And my friend, when Christ leads us into true freedom, we will go back like that lady, back to her village, back to her community, and say, 'Let me introduce you to somebody.' He told me everything I've ever done and welcomed me. Jesus is still meeting people at the well, as it were. Still crossing boundaries. Still pursuing the overlooked and the isolated. Still offering living water. My friend, you and I, we are not disqualified. We are not unseen. We are not hidden. You are not beyond His reach because He died with His arms outstretched. And I seriously want to say to you today, wherever you find yourself, whether Him or whether you're searching, His arms are still outstretched to me and you. God bless you.
Will: Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Dave. That is— I love that passage. I love that story, and I just love what you said. Yeah, it's a warm embrace. And yeah, absolutely true. This is, this is the Jesus that, that we know and we love and we serve. I love the idea of, yeah, that Jesus trying to find the unseen. there's, there's all the crowds, there's all the ones that desperately want to see him, and he treks, as you say, across Samaria, forbidden a place for a Jew, to find the one that doesn't even know she's looking, really. And yeah, I wonder what was going through Jesus's head at that, because I mean, he knew that he was going to meet this woman. Yeah. And I guess he must be quite excited about that, anticipating, but also not knowing, .
Dave: Yeah.
Will: It's like, how do you start that conversation with someone that's going to such lengths to hide without, like, scaring them off?
Dave: I think because he was compelled. When I said he had to go, I mean, the better translation is he's compelled.
Will: Yeah.
Dave: compelled because he wants to do the will of the Father. Yeah. out of love. Yeah. That divine appointment's amazing.
Will: Yeah. Amazing.
Mike: I love that. I love the idea that he's gone out of his way into dangerous territory in order to find this one. Woman. it is amazing. I also love the fact that he listened. He, he has the great revelation to give to this young lady, and yet he listens to her and responds to what she says. You think, how many times have I come with a good idea and I'm looking at the person but I'm not listening to them? I'm just waiting for them to take a breath so that I can deliver the thing that I think is gonna be the antidote, the thing that's going to cure everything. Yet the creator of the universe listens to this lady and responds to what she says. Absolutely. Yeah, that's, that's a challenge, isn't it, to me? Absolutely. And, and to all of us, isn't it, to, to listen to people and, respond to what they're saying?
Will: yeah, and it's an absolute masterclass in it because she's come with this need of water. And, and that's where the conversation goes. It's like, yeah, let me tell you about water. And, I, I could— as you were talking, I can think of one time when I've had that. I've been really, really thirsty, and it was climbing a mountain, very ill-equipped, because I never really meant to go up this mountain. And, I, I just— every bit I got to is like, oh, I'll go a little bit further on. And there wasn't a path. I didn't have any food, didn't have any water, and it was a hot day. And, and I had to get to the snow line so that I could put some snow in my little water bottle. So I had to go quite high to get this water, and I just remember that sense of— and, and, when you're thirsty, it really does become all-consuming. It's like you cannot think of anything else. You just need water. That's literally the only thing. you can utterly, utterly focused on it. And, and I wonder I wonder how much in, in this woman's heart that— or whether, I don't know, when we have that level of thirst, maybe we, maybe we learn to push it down. Maybe she'd learned to like, I can, I can cope with all this, I'm still searching for water. But, but yeah, what that would have unlocked in him. No, this is water that your thirst will be quenched and you'll never have to get water again. That would be an amazing thing to have heard.
Dave: I mean, can you imagine, like, all the other ladies, all the other ladies in the village come in the morning.
Will: Yeah.
Dave: And they've got that interaction, that's what about the lace, what's on sale, the local ASDA or whatever. Obviously there are other supermarkets available, but they would have been talking about the topics of the day, what the kids are doing. Yeah. And she's excluded. Yeah, from that, she hasn't come with one or two other ladies, all right? She's on her own. And I think isolation is probably one of the— it's a punishment, isn't it? to be— I, you, you're starved of relationship, you're starved of interaction, you're starved of love. You haven't got a voice to hear or a voice to share with other people like you. Yeah, but because she's living the shame.
Will: Yeah, and probably even more so in that, in that culture, in a small, a small town where, that is your whole life. It's not like you have lots of friends that you could phone or whatever. It's like if she's isolating herself from her own community, that's, that's very isolated.
Dave: And that's the power of shame, isn't it?
Will: I know, absolutely, absolutely.
Mike: It's the, every time she goes to the well, it's just a constant reminder, isn't it? Even if she's not thinking about it, it's like, I'm here at midday because I am ashamed.
Dave: Yeah, absolutely.
Mike: And, and, and she gets confused, doesn't she? what Jesus says to her, I can give you living water. And she's like, great, I won't have to come back here again.
Dave: Yeah.
Mike: And you think she hates going to the well, doesn't she? She hates it because it's a constant reminder of the shame, a constant reminder of, and it must have been terrible. It must have been terrible.
Dave: In that moment of the conversation, I just find it really staggering. she's— the content of the conversation has such an impact The very people, and even the men there who she's trying to avoid, yeah, something has touched their heart so dynamically. They're the people she goes to. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I'd be thinking they don't deserve it, . If it was me, people like that shame me and ridicule, yeah, I'd probably be thinking, I don't know if they deserve it because Shallow, but she doesn't. She goes back because I think when you experience— my testimony would be, having experienced God's grace, I am compelled to be gracious with other people. I find it, I was most of the time I was able to find a bit more grace for people, and that's because I know the depth and the sheer amount of grace that God has poured into my life. And I think that's what's happening in this lady. Yeah, you've got— she's forgot what the mayor said to her.
Will: Yeah. And that's, that's astonishing, isn't it? I mean, she leaves the water jar from the first point which she brought out, which is really interesting. She left the very thing that she's there to do, but then it's like she's completely forgotten the fact that she's going out in the middle of the day and isolating herself from the community. It's like, that doesn't matter because look what I've found. And that's, that's an astonishing picture of that power of encounter with, with Jesus, that she would forget all the shame, she'd forget all the ridicule or all the behind her back stuff and just go back and say, come and see this guy. I mean, was she even thinking, what are they even gonna say to that? how are they going to respond to me saying anything because I've really messed up in so many ways?
Mike: But she—
Will: that just, just pales, .
Mike: And it got— you've got a, a— I'm just thinking this as I'm talking, so a little bit of blue sky thinking. But I was thinking Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night, doesn't he? Because he's a little bit ashamed. He doesn't want to be— he doesn't want people— he's respected. He's got the opposite problem. He's like one of the big dudes, the big leaders, and he comes to Jesus at night because he doesn't want to be seen with him, maybe.
Dave: That's right.
Mike: And yet, and, and yet here you've got the, the total opposite. Yeah, yeah, they're both a little bit ashamed.
Dave: Yeah. And, and you've got Zacchaeus, and you've got— exactly. Yeah, I think for them, they have something of a hunger already that, Zacchaeus, he's come and claimed.
Mike: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dave: Nicodemus, he's come. Yeah, they've had something.
Mike: Yeah, yeah.
Dave: Where this— and, and they were obviously despised in this very similar ways, as this lady, for different reasons, obviously. but God sees the seed, doesn't he? He sees— I love that he knows our heart.
Mike: Yeah.
Dave: And he sees our brokenness, and he presses in. He doesn't send a disciple, didn't send an angel.
Will: Yeah.
Dave: Jesus himself. And such a key part when you look at the ministry of Jesus, this first encounter. With this woman. And it's just remarkable, like, the restoration. We— because you continue to read through in Acts, that as they start to— the church to be sent out, there's a move of God, in Samaria. And they are scattered out into the nations, . And I just think God's redemption and God's redemptive power. I think it's something we don't talk enough about, how he's able to take— would we have picked that woman? Would she be the best person to say that message? I wonder. They're like 10, 30 ladies, they're lovely.
Mike: Yeah, yeah, .
Will: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dave: The husbands have got jobs and the kids have got teeth and things like that.
Mike: They'll be respected more.
Dave: Yeah, your people will receive them.
Mike: Yeah.
Dave: And, and in one sense you could say, yeah, they would But people received this woman who was at the well because I believe that transformation, I believe it's a visual thing. I think it's something that starts within us and it works its way out. The day I became a Christian with a friend of ours, Lee Davis, and his dad, and we were both 19 or something like that, and we were both in the same event, not together, and, And I seen him coming forward, responding to the gospel. And he had a reputation and a heart of this guy. And, and he went forward and, and I went for it and I thought it was all going to go crazy. But, when Lee's dad Kev went back into the community, I mean, there was a trans— people knew, people were talking. I mean, I said the very Next day after we got saved, he threw me through a quick save window when he saw me. So it wasn't quite fast enough, it wasn't quite fast enough for me, to be honest. And, but honestly, people in our community were talking about him, and he was— the transformation and the fruit of repentance in his life, people just talked about him, and, and it was wonderful. Not so much about me because I was such a flake, if I'm honest, . I'm a slower, I'm a bit— yeah, that's why it is.
Mike: Thanks, man.
Dave: One of those revolutionaries. I'm a slow one. but it was wonderful to see. And even now when I think about it, when, when I see Lee, and talk about his dad, people knew that something had happened to Kev because his life was different. How he spoke was certainly different than how he deal with you was totally different, . And I think that's what transformation— that's what we need to be looking for, transformation. Yeah, that woman, the transformation, the fruits of repentance in that woman's life.
Will: Yeah. So I mean, yeah, so if you relate to that, that there's— I mean, even as Dave's been talking and— or reminding yourself that story, that there's those things that hidden but just weigh you down. this is, this is an example and many other examples. And that's a great one about Lee's dad, of where that encounter with Jesus supplants all that stuff. It just overwrites it to the point where this woman didn't even care about who she was talking to or who they were. She's just like, this is amazing.
Dave: Yeah.
Will: but I think, I mean, that's a very real thing, isn't it? Being hidden and wanting to stay a bit hidden, whether it be hiding behind your, your mask of lots of friends, talking all the time, whatever, or actually physical isolation. I think if we're honest, I think that's probably all of our experience to an extent of wanting to be hidden. And, and again, that just the beauty of this story of Jesus just gently, not accusing, just offering. I think, I think I wrote down what the phrase— it was, no exposure, just an offer. that he wasn't interested in exposing. And that's exactly the same with us. That, that is the relationship that Jesus offers to us. He knows those things. but yeah, I don't know whether that resonates with you at all, Mike.
Mike: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's a real challenge, isn't it, to be, to be honest with First of all, with God, I think it says somewhere else, doesn't it, that we should confess our sins to each other. And I just think, I've thought about this quite a lot recently about, God knows everything. As you were saying, God knows everything about my life, yet I still find it hard, even though I know he knows, to, to say, to be honest and to speak out, to pray to God and say, God, I'm feeling angry about this. Even there's something still in me that thinks if I don't say it, it'll stay hidden. And I think, like, it just— I think the reason why it's so important to be honest with God is because it, it shows that I have enough faith to believe that this terrible thing is not going to keep you from me. It's not gonna make you run away. Because, I think deep down what, what I'm thinking is that if I say this thing, even though I— even as I'm saying it, I don't believe it, but if I say this thing, that, that it's just gonna— God's gonna find it abhorrent and want to, want to leave. and so by— it's an act of faith, isn't it? It's faith in the love of God to say, even though I'm going to tell you this thing, I believe that you're going to love me anyway.
Will: Yeah, yeah.
Mike: So to be, to be honest with God, but then also to be honest with each other. And I, I've been, talking to the youth about, about the same thing, about, having those relationships with a couple of people where you can be honest and where people can be honest with you. But, but it's a challenge because I'm like Am I mature enough to have a relationship like that where, where people— where I— where people can be honest with me? It's like that. I don't know. I hope I am.
Will: Yeah.
Mike: but it's a choice, isn't it?
Will: It's a choice that Jesus accepts us for a start. And yeah, as you say, it's almost a discipline to like, I've got to say these things because it's demonstrating that, that confidence. Yeah, I think you talked about in your talk, Dave. so a number of years ago, and, and ongoing, . I've had moments where I struggle with depression, and just— I knew, because isolation is absolutely what I do, . There's no way I want to— I don't want anyone to make me feel better. I don't want to talk to anyone. I just like— that is a really isolating thing. And I knew I had to just set up a little WhatsApp group, yeah, of— I think it's about 5 guys, and it's It's a real discipline when I'm having a dark day. It's like, I don't want anyone to phone me up, I don't want to talk through anything, but I just need to put a message on going, struggling, because I know these guys are for me. Yeah, I know they know me and I know they'll pray for me.
Dave: Yeah.
Will: And, and having those, those things that force us to, to try and be a bit exposed, as you were saying, I think is really important because really powerful, because isolation is something that will always come back to bite it's a very, very natural human reaction to, to just shut ourselves off because things are painful. We're hurt. This woman was hurt, had been hurt by her community. There was probably a lot of shame as well, and there was that hunger and that desperation. All those things are going to isolate you, and sometimes you just need to find a way to, yeah, keep yourself connected. yeah, and, and that's what, that's what Jesus allows you to do because of that utter, utter acceptance, that Jesus has for you. And again, really well demonstrated in this, in this story.
Mike: Yeah, well, what I was just thinking about, I, I think, I think, setting up a WhatsApp group like that and, and just saying something as simple as struggling, something I just think is incredibly powerful. Incredibly powerful. I was just thinking about Jesus as a revolutionary, and thinking another challenge, as you were talking, Dave, I was thinking like some people, who you read about, go looking for conflict, don't they? It's like it's almost— it's the way they gain likes or they gain popularity, they just go looking for conflict. So they don't necessarily believe in what they're saying, they just go looking to cause mayhem and to come up against— just want to be argument— want an argument. Whilst with Jesus, it's almost like— I don't know how you feel— it doesn't feel like he went looking for conflict, but just by being him, he came into conflict. Yeah, with, with the world. for us, it's like if we choose to follow Jesus, we, we are going to come up against conflict, guaranteed. And so if, if in your life you are experiencing zero conflict all of the time for long periods of time, there's, there's a challenge there, isn't that? That there is a strong likelihood that something's gone a bit awry. And that maybe, I don't know, I'm keen to know what you think.
Dave: I think we relate. I mean, I've been in the book of Acts for, seems like forever, and, been quite a lot of writing on it, and we're also taking a year to go through it at the tab, but, besides the obvious thing about, the Holy Spirit coming and all these things, but if you look at that early church, they saw amazing things. But Jesus is no longer being persecuted for what he's saying, because he's, he's in glory. But, you go from this and all these people are wanting to join the church, and it says then that they slow off because of the persecution that is happening. Well, you will— for me, as the church is growing, persecution comes and it is scattered, and it grows even more, . And we live in a world where it's like everything if we're not living in victory, church is to— you're not living in victory if you're having challenges or, turmoil or whatever. But we had open doors at the tabernacles, and there's a guy there in Asia, and he'd been a Muslim and he'd come to Jesus and he was sharing the gospel with people and they took him and they covered him in petrol and they set fire to him, covered him head to foot in petrol and they set fire to him, and his legs went on fire. And his testimony is, fortunately only me legs were burnt. And that is testimony, fortunately only my legs were burnt and I'm able to tell people about Jesus.
Mike: Wow.
Dave: I mean, most of us like would be, yeah, well, why did you let me even legs get them, but, and I think there's something in the West where we think any form of conflict or any, trials or tribulations that come against us, it's wrong. But what happens if they're the very things that really should be pushing us into God and bringing us, to maturity? That, that's what I personally think they are. I think, as church, we need to stop whinging and start saying, hey, maybe this, maybe all this thing is happening, it's like God is doing something, we're just not seeing it. Yeah, just, just one point, Mike, about, when I just emphasize that when Jesus spoke to her, it was love. But can you imagine, now, where's your husband? I mean, that's a tough one, isn't it? and I know the 5, you've had 5 others Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's not just the words, is it? It's that, people are, Father God's created people, but it's how we can say the, the appropriate things that might sound strong. Yeah, but it's also what is it flowing. Jesus is just saying, I love you in spite of that. Yeah, I love you in spite of that. And we've all got things I'm sure, and there'll be people like, you don't know Christ, saying, I couldn't come to Christ because I've done this. Yeah, well, you're not alone, because most of us have done most of those things as well, . And he still receives those.
Will: And I think, yeah, I think one of the things I thought about tonight afresh on this story is when she goes back to the village and says, here's a man that told me everything I did. And I wonder how much of that village is like, oh, this guy I've got to meet. It's like, I want to see this woman get a really good telling off. If he knows everything she's done, this is going to be good. Yeah, good entertainment, . And they come and they meet Jesus, utter grace, who, who probably called out some stuff in them as well. I'm like, oh, and you accept me as well? Yeah. yeah, just incredible grace. thank you everyone for being, in, in the chat. We've got loads of, loads of messages coming through. I just wanted to read one from, from Alicia. I think what's so beautiful about this story— and lots of thanks too for Talk, Dave. I think what's so beautiful about this story and this talk is that the Lord moves the woman from the shame she's centered in herself to the larger view that centers him.
Dave: That's beautiful.
Will: And our new identity in him. And yeah, absolutely, Alicia. I think that's fantastic. it's the sense of seeing that wider perspective. She's come probably with that inner condemnation the whole time as she's drawing water, reminding herself why she's there in the heat of the day, why it's such hard work. Yeah, and that monologue, which again, I think, many of us can relate to, that just accusing all the time. And she just forgets it and says, she forgets again, like the relationships with a village and she's like, here's a guy that's given me a completely different perspective, a far wider perspective, a more loving perspective and accepts me. And yeah, that's a beautiful thing. So beautiful. Yeah, thanks again for all those comments. We've run out of time. Thank you so much, Dave. Please do read that story. It is really rich, and it's just a beautiful picture of how Jesus relates to each one of us. If you want to chat further, please do come to the live lounge. The link is going to go up in the chat. Just dial in. It's about 10 minutes. Just chat. We can talk a little bit more directly than you can online. And, about anything to catch up on the week, have a little bit of community on the back of this. Mike, any, any final thoughts for you? I've got a whole list of notes I haven't been able to talk about, but—
Mike: well, I suppose the only, the only thing, the first thing I wrote down when Dave started talking was, a line that somebody much wiser than me once said and often gets rolled out, which is, he who knows you best loves you most. And I just think we all here, we're all the same. We're all sinners saved by his grace. We're all not good enough, and we are all seen. All of it. We are all completely seen. We are completely known, and we are completely loved. and yeah, you are loved today. You are seen, known, and loved.
Will: Yeah. Yeah, no, that's beautiful. And the line that you said towards the end, David, finished with is, Jesus is not interested in superficial relationships. Absolutely not interested. he, he wants to get real. and, and just the challenge I've just written is, so just come as you are. That, that's the offer. Yeah, that, that's what Jesus says. Just come as you are. Don't, don't, don't get polished up. First, so you're good enough. just come as you are, because Jesus is not interested in superficial relationships. Thank you all very much. Thank you, Dave, so much for a really, really rich, talk this evening. every Sunday we've got the live stream. Please do join us again. If you're listening to this on catch-up in the week, come, come and join us live. add to the comments, add to part of the discussion, and, and please do, join us in the live lounge, which will start very soon after this end of the livestream. But meantime, thank you, Mike. Thank you, Dave. Have a fantastic week, and, God bless you. Come as you are.
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